Article published: Wednesday, April 11th 2012

A company which already detains and deports asylum seekers in the UK has been awarded a government contract worth £175m to provide and manage accommodation, as well as transport, for asylum seekers in Manchester and the North West over the next five years.

Article published: Thursday, January 19th 2012

In 2010, the last year for which figures are available, just over 1,700 unaccompanied children claimed asylum in this country. A new report from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, released just this week, exposed a shadowy deal between Britain and France where for 15 years often sick or traumatised children were subjected to instant interrogation once they hit the UK border. Clare Sambrook explains.

Article published: Wednesday, March 2nd 2011

Denied the right to work since 2002, destitution has soared among asylum seekers who seek sanctuary in the UK. Lawrence Carter speaks to one forced migrant about his experiences and takes a look at a campaign fighting to make a change.

Article published: Friday, February 18th 2011

A government body spent tens of thousands of pounds on barristers’ fees and used five members of staff to win a battle over funding against a local not-for-profit organisation which provides free access to legal services, MULE can reveal.

Article published: Monday, December 6th 2010

Public money is being ‘wasted’ while vulnerable people are denied access to justice, claim legal aid campaigners in Manchester. They are calling on the Legal Services Commission to back down from defending a challenge taken by two law centres to have their funding restored.

Culture

A heavy mist suddenly falls on a darkened Manchester hiding from sight unspeakably hideous creatures. Drums can be heard in the distance lulling you into a hypnotic trance, the work of witches and daemons no doubt. Or perhaps Voodoo ring masters, descending onto the city streets armed with psychedelic beats banged out by their armies of musical Goblins possessed with the desire for mischief and fun. It must be that time of year again; it can only be the Illuminaughty Halloween party.

Poetry and science are two things generally not associated with each other, in fact if you joined the two in a word association test you would be one step closer to a chemical cosh and your very own padded cell. However the audience attending the Science Slam at the packed out Nexus Art Cafe Thursday night will never again doubt the validity of the two pursuits being combined; though I can’t rule out they may end up bouncing of the walls of a padded cell at some time in the future.

We were outside Nexus Art Café in the Northern Quarter, queuing, when a car raced up, the driver shoved a woman to the pavement and the performance began. This was the introduction to the character Aggie in A Dream Play by the Déjà Vu Ensemble, daughter of the gods, who has come to our world to learn what it means to be human.